Up To 220,000 California Kids Could Be Left Uninsured Under Health Reform

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Aired 7/7/11

A new report from UCLA says restrictions on eligibility will leave up to 220,000 California children out of health reform.

California  A new report estimates health reform will exclude about 20 percent of all uninsured children in California. The analysis from UCLA says eligibility restrictions will prevent many children from getting affordable care.

Shana Alex Lavarreda wrote the report for the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

She estimated that about 30,000 children won't be allowed to get discounted health coverage because they're undocumented. Nearly 150,000 other kids who are legal immigrants will be excluded because they've lived here for less than five years.

"So you end up with 180,000 children," Laverreda said, "which is a sizable population, that even after all of the expansions are probably going to be still uninsured."

Lavarreda added many undocumented parents may mistakenly think their children who were born here won't qualify for discounted insurance. She says an additional 40,000 California kids could fall into that category.